Those words, spoken by Tidus, the main character of Final Fantasy X, are historic. Released for the PlayStation 2 in December 2001, FFX was the first game in the series to feature voice acting, and those words are the first players hear in the game. From that point on, players are transported to the foreign world of Spira to witness the exotic events transpire.

For the game’s producer Yoshinori Kitase, those words are prophetic. A giant in the Final Fantasy realm, Kitase has been at the forefront of some the series’ numerous successes, including directing series’ best-seller Final Fantasy VII.

Only 13 days are left until the end of the world and the Savior must rescue as many souls as possible to transport them to a new world moments before oblivion.

No, it’s not the return of Kirk Cameron in “Left Behind,” it’s the third coming of Lightning, the star of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII franchise.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII chronicles the final days of Nova Chrysalia, a world ravaged by a malevolent miasma known only as Chaos. The god, Bhunivelze, has awakened Lightning from her 500-year slumber to be the Savior. After playing this game, fans of the franchise may wish she stayed in bed.

The study took at look at five games that heavily featured religion in the plot: “Assassin’s Creed,” “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow,” “Elder Scrolls: Oblivion,” “Final Fantasy XIII” and “Mass Effect 2.”

From MU News Bureau:

“In most of these games there was a heavy emphasis on a ‘Knights Templar’ and crusader motifs,” Perreault said. “Not only was the violent side of religion emphasized, but in each of these games religion created a problem that the main character must overcome, whether it is a direct confrontation with religious zealots or being haunted by religious guilt.”

What do you think? Are video games shedding religion in a negative light or is it just an element to add to the storyline?

A&E reporter John Wenzel has covered a variety of topics for The Denver Post over the years, including video games, comedy, music and the fine arts. He's been playing and loving video games since his dad brought home a sweet ColecoVision in 1983. Catch him on PSN as beardsandgum.

Hugh got his start writing for the Cheyenne and Woodmen Edition newspapers in Colorado Springs. In 2011 he moved to Denver where he has written for Denver Urban Spectrum and Colorado Community Media’s Wheat Ridge Transcript. Hugh joined The Denver Post in 2014 as an editorial assistant.